Chances for anything Ivy?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>My father's side of my family is pressuring me hardcore to go Ivy League, because none of them ever went passed high school... So... Should I try at any of the Ivies or should I just accept that my family is nuts? Also, would I have any chance at a school like Johns Hopkins, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, etc... I'll be a senior next year! Whoohoo!</p>

<p>I'm white, with a single parent. (Father is deceased)
Goin' to a public high school.
GPA: My school is dumb and doesn't do unweighted.
----->Started with 3.3 Cumulative, now have a 4.1+ Cumulative (4.6+ GPA last year)
Rank: 18/378</p>

<p>Scores:
PSAT: 203 (National Merit Semi-Finalist... Not so good score, though :P)
ACT: (Awaiting new scores)
29 Composite
30 Math
30 English
28 Science
28 Reading
SAT: Retaking
First-time score--1860 (I know, it sucks)</p>

<p>Honors Classes: Geometry, Math Analysis/Precalculus, English 9, Biology, Biotechnology/Genetics, Spanish II, Spanish III, Spanish IV, English 10, English 11, US History, Chemistry, Government/Economics. [[Senior year: Physics]]</p>

<p>APs: Statistics (4) Scores pending for: Calculus AB and Chemistry [[Senior year: English, Biology, Calculus BC]]</p>

<p>EC's:
-Chemistry Olympiad
-Model United Nations
-Student Council
-Artful Science Club
-High School Orchestra
-National Honor Society
-Strollin' Strings Orchestra
-Tutoring for intermediate schools
-200+ hours of community service, with The Gathering Place (non-profit organization to aid families touched by cancer, what my dad passed away from), Retirement home help, teaching students music, etc.</p>

<p>Leadership:
-Sat second chair (1st chair was senior) in cello section freshman year.
-Sat first chair in cello section of the orchestra for 2 years (& probably will as a senior).
-Conductor in children's orchestra
-Student Secretary of the PTSA (or PTA)
-Legislative Delegate of PTSA for 2 years
-President of National Honor Society
-Vice-President of the Orchestra junior year
-President of Orchestra in senior year</p>

2

<p>1) You’re gonna need to bump up your test scores. ACT/SAT are no where in range for top 25 schools bud. Get atleast 33 ACT, and 2100+ SAT.</p>

<p>2) EC’s are perfect, but they’re okay. Try joining some clubs and do something in them. If anything, ditch your friends over summer and try getting 300-500 volunteer hours</p>

<p>3) You’re not mega-AP loading, that could come up as a problem.</p>

<p>I suggest you get a letter of rec from the volunteering place so (no offense for me to say that you should capitalize from your respective father’s death) at least your adcoms can realize your tricky situation. Seems to me the only ivy that your profile ‘applies’ to is really Cornell, aka Suicide Land (lol, jk). Of course, whatever I’m saying is only if you take my suggestions I listed up there^^^. JHU is up there in your chances, so are other schools like in the #25-15 region. Try applying to some liberal arts places, since your focused in music but also excel in science as an olympiad, etc.
Write good essays</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your input… I really don’t see myself as being smart enough for a school like those in the Ivy League… I’m just frustrated because I get an application from Harvard in the mail and then all of a sudden it’s like, supposed to be my destiny. I know they send those to anyone who gets luck on the PSAT and all that… My school doesn’t really have that many options as far as AP classes. Our levies keep failing so we can’t have that many after-school activities. Right now the school I love the most is the University of Wisconsin at Madison. But apparently going to a school like that “doesn’t open doors” like going Ivy. Oh well… Thank you, though. :')</p>

4

<p>Aww I think that you were being kind of harsh HonorLions. I can completely sympathize with your situation OP, and I’m sure AdComs will be able to as well…especially if you can incorporate that into your essays. If your school does not offer APs you will not be penalized for that. Of course, you could have self-studied but it’s too late now. And study study study for the SATs…with your situation I would find +2100 sufficient. Plus the cello thing is pretty sweet. That was my dream instrument when I was little :slight_smile: but our school only offers a woodwind band so I play the flute. And mega-volunteering hours don’t help all that much if you don’t have a leadership position or aren’t doing something important. Do you really think that Ivies want kids who spend all their time filing records at a hospital? Of course, it never hurts to have SOME of those types of hours (I will have about 300 of those types of hours where it’s nothing too special…playing my flute at hospital and reading to delirium patients) but no need to go out and get 500 because you could be doing more important things.</p>

5

<p>Thanks YellowDaisies. :slight_smile: I didn’t study for my first-time SAT at all (not a good idea, I know), and also, right before we took the test a kid had to be rushed to the hospital which was really scary. So next time when I take it, I’ll hopefully be more prepared and less shaken up by kids falling down stairs… As for my school and every thing, even though my school doesn’t offer a whole lot academically, my grade is still super-competitive, which is why I’m only in the top 5% percent. I don’t really have the time to just focus on academics, because I’m very dedicated to my ECs and leadership positions. If it makes any difference, much of my family has never gone to college, and my mother is an unmarried and single parent to me. I know that’s not a lot but to my family, it means a lot that I’ll just go to college in general… And if this makes any difference, I can also play the upright double bass, and have honors or awards for music and music competitions and certain academic subjects, such as being a top writing student in my class.</p>

6

<p>Show your family this site’s threads showing who got into ivies this year and tell them the importance of focusing on schools where you have a solid shot. Your list above are reaches and making it into one of those will require working on scores and great applications.</p>

7

<p>I would say that your rank is your biggest issue. I would recommend still apply to a couple lower Ivies as reaches though.</p>

8

<p>My class is super competitive, which is why my rank is so low. I go to school with kids who purposely only take all honors and AP and no electives so they can have the highest GPA. We need 21 credits to graduate, and I’ll be graduating with over 30 credits. And because I take classes like orchestra and Spanish, it brings my GPA down because they have a 4.0 scale… So… I’m screwed because I’m more well-rounded, basically. :(</p>

9

<p>Yea, Ivies are a reach for you. Try to stand out more.</p>

10

<p>On a slightly different angle, I want to suggest a book for you to read: “Colleges that Change Lives,” by Loren Pope. I think it could help you a lot. It profiles 40 small colleges that are transformative (at least that is the thesis.) I think that reading the descriptions of the various colleges would really help you think about what YOU are looking for. I think you might really flourish at one of the CTCL colleges, as well as being a strong candidate for aid money. There are CTCL colleges from all around the country. They range from quite selective (Reed and Whitman) to quite open admissions. The book also includes a chapter explaining why he thinks these schools are actually superior to the Ivies (I think this is overstated, but he raises some good points.)</p>

<p>Politely tell your father’s family to back off. If they haven’t been to college, they don’t understand what it takes to succeed, either in terms of getting in or getting through. So you get into an Ivy–do you have the resources and family network needed to flourish? I am sure they mean well by you, but there are so many excellent schools that they have probably never heard of. What do they think of Rhodes or Dennison? Do they know that Kalamazoo and Earlham are in the top 20 universities for Ph.D. production, according to the NSF data, and that Reed is in the top 10? Macalester or Carleton–how do they see the relative strengths of those schools?</p>

<p>Go to a place where you feel the vibe; you have good credentials and you will succeed. The world is not “Harvard or MacDonald’s.”</p>

11

<p>But how do I do that…? I mean, most people already think I stand out because I dress like a stoner and don’t fit the mold of the generally good student. Everyone else is so clean-cut and serious, and I wear real handcuffs on my pants and clothes with gory images of people being eaten by demons. Most people don’t take me seriously at first but they learn “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” I don’t know how I’m supposed to show college admissions officers that I’m “different”… I guess they’d have to meet me in person to know. :&lt;/p>

12

<p>@UT84321: Thanks so much for this suggestion, it really makes me a feel a lot more confident about being able to be successful in other places. I see my education as what I make of it… I don’t really need a top “name” in a school to make value of what it has to offer. :)</p>

13

<p>hey im a freshman in a really competitive high school and i kinda screwed up my freshman year (3.57 gpa) but im feeling confident that i can raise my grades up to solid As…my dream school is stanford and i was just wondering if i keep up my grades in the next three years as solid As, get a 2300 in my sat (i got a 200 in my psat), dominate in my schools debate team/write for my school newspaper, and continue rowing for my school if i still have a shot at stanford</p>

<p>oh and i took the bio sat subject and got a 710 but i think im going to retake it after i take ap bio later on in highschool</p>

14

<p>^Start your own thread, don’t hijack somebody else’s.</p>

15

<p>whoops sorry! i didnt mean to its just i dont know how too :(</p>

16

<p>@Yellowdaisies- Really? I think I’m being perfectly realistic here. Unless those ‘goals’ aren’t met, his chances are dim. Let’s not pretend it’s a perfect world here now.</p>

17

<p>Low Ivies (Cornell, Brown, etc.) should be your highest reaches with the current info. Apply to some other schools, obviously (ranking 20-30) to be safe.</p>

18

<p>@ Honorlions: It was the AP thing that I thought was harsh. Don’t you think that if his school doesn’t offer any APs that he will not be penalized for it? At least that’s what I’ve read… But you’re right :slight_smile: harsh advice is better than giving false hope…I think. I just didn’t want the kid to get completely discouraged :slight_smile: because he could write some killer essays with his background. </p>

<p>Hey Honorlions do you want to chance me? Try to keep it in the boundaries between harsh and soul-crushing haha :slight_smile: I’m just joking with you but <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/940331-just-another-ivy-league-chance-me-please.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/940331-just-another-ivy-league-chance-me-please.html&lt;/a&gt; (i’m a rising junior and I would like some advice if you would like to advise!)</p>

19

<p><em>Sorry guys to derail the thread or anything, but, you know</em></p>

<p>Your thread was too full so I’ll just say it here. I seriously though you were Asian. But you really fit that persona of someone who works so hard with stuff that colleges. Hopefully, you can write a kickass essay tieing that all up, or it’s just gonna be another Asian-Wannabe fail.
And 218 PSAT I’d say equals like a 2180. For Princeton, you’re gonna need a 2300ish bro (err, sis).
Utilize your essays, teacher recs, to show some personality and focus (you’ve got an A+ in Asian focus though). I’d suggest looking up some programs like Clark Scholars or something for a summer research program. HAve fun with 11 self-study AP’s</p>

20

<p><em>Sorry again to the OP for the derailment</em></p>

<p>Oooh again with the soul-crushing comments Honorslions haha :slight_smile: jk. Tbh, I take the Asian thing as a compliment. I don’t know, maybe it’s kind of like insulting some one with the “YOU ARE TOO HARD-WORKING!”…“Um, gee thanks ;)” Haha I’ve always admired people (who just happen to be Asian) like that actually… Your correlation between PSATs and SATs is not exactly accurate because I was a sophomore who hadn’t studied at all when I took it. I was 99 percentile in every subject…which isn’t 2180 on the SATs. You’re definitely right about the essays…I’d say that I have a unique background and already have some ideas about what I’m writing about. I definitely have not had the opportunities a lot of people here have had so that will hopefully make me unique (to the OP as repayment for letting us derail your thread…YOU HAVE AN UNIQUE BACKGROUND THAT WILL MAKE YOU STAND OUT!). Oh and thanks for the chance HONORLIONS!</p>